About

OUR HISTORY

The APPG to End Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking (the End Modern Slavery Group) was founded in 2018 by current Co-Chair MP Arnold Viersen and fellow Parliamentarians MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette, MP Christine Moore, and Senator Dan Christmas. They seek to effectively fight against slavery in Canada. This APPG modeled the United Kingdom’s successful APPG on Human Trafficking & Modern Slavery: firstly in a firm multi-partisan approach through co-chairs belonging to different parties, and secondly in a dedicated partnership with a non-governmental research organization.

Since it was founded, the End Modern Slavery Group has hosted survivor-led speaking engagements, worked together to table a bill pertaining to modern slavery, and engaged with international stakeholders in an effort to abolish all forms of modern-day slavery. The 2020 membership list includes 32 members and four co-chairs from across political parties and the Independent Senators Group.

OUR PARTNER

The activities of the End Modern Slavery Group are supported by a partnership with the International Justice and Human Rights Clinic (IJHR Clinic) at the Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia. The IJHR Clinic is an external research group for the APPG that conducts legal and policy research on measures to eradicate modern slavery. In 2018, the IJHR Clinic drafted a model supply chain law and has advocated for the APPG to table ‘human rights due diligence legislation‘ that would apply to the supply chains of Canadian companies. The partnership with the IJHR Clinic has equipped the APPG to make significant advances in fighting human trafficking in Canada and abroad.

OUR PURPOSE

The End Modern Slavery Group shall: 

1. Ensure that the Government of Canada does all that it can to prevent and protect civilian populations from modern slavery, increase prosecution of traffickers, and build partnerships with various organizations; 
2. Increase the flow of information and analysis to parliamentarians about modern slavery;
3. Promote understanding of the importance of long-term approaches to the prevention of slavery; and
4. Engage in communication and collaboration with like-minded bodies in civil society and other Parliaments in order to: a) Exchange information about strategies for the prevention of modern slavery; and b) Work in conjunction with the United Nations Special Advisor to Fight Human Trafficking, the International Criminal Court, and other organizations working in the field of slavery prevention.